


Falling Without Gravity

by RainbowLion68



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU - Nothing Post Season 2 Exists, Angst, Banter, Bottom Keith (Voltron), Fix-it fic, Friends to Lovers, Galra Keith (Voltron), Humor, M/M, Realistic battles, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, War, takes place post season 2, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-14 22:47:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17517260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowLion68/pseuds/RainbowLion68
Summary: It’s been nearly 4 years since they left earth, and while much has changed, the constant battle against the Galra forces has not. For the Paladins of Voltron, saving the universe sounded a lot easier in theory.In which Keith is navigating his newfound Galra heritage, Lance misses his family, Pidge searches for her brother, Hunk craves something to eat that doesn’t taste like an overripe eggplant, and Shiro has had enough of everyone's shit.





	Falling Without Gravity

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place post-season two: a time when the show was still good, everyone’s damn colors matched, the community was flourishing, and the simpler time when the fandom wasn’t quite the dumpster fire it is today. :)
> 
> Nothing after the season 2 finale matters (but Shiro doesn't go missing because that was stupid) in this fic and a lot of the lore and backstory has been changed, specifically the fact that in this fic, there have been many paladins of Voltron before the current ones because that is the feeling the show originally gave.

Keith jumps back, metal mallet swinging down on the spot he’d been just moments before.

“Fuck.” He curses, the force of it makes him nearly trip on the rocky terrane behind him, causing him to fumble momentarily. He’s saved by years of muscle memory alone as his the heel of his boot dig into the dirt as he stabilizes himself.

He does this only quick enough that he has time to see the next attack but not enough time to avoid it. Instead, he brings his forearm up, Bayard raised in a hasty defensive stance, as his opponent swings down with equal force. Keith manages to pivot his hips correctly, tilting his blade in order to redirect the mallets blunt force, halting the momentum threatening to beat down on him.

They trade blow after blow as he and the mammoth warrior circle each other, the latter using his towering height to strike down on Keith with deadly force. With each buck of his sword, he feels his tired muscles scream in retaliation, adrenaline alone keeping him on his feet. The barren planet of Zaei contains an elaborate underground network of tunnels sits too close to the planet's core for comfort, causing his body to break out in sweat and heat rash. It felt like being cooked alive. 

It had been a joke for the team when they first arrived on Zaei, Lance going on about how he used to pretend people were drowning as an excuse to jump into the pool when he worked as a lifeguard back home while Pidge muttered sourly about her plans to build a makeshift air conditioner. That had been just over a quintant ago.

It takes all his energy to buck back against the onslaught, hours spent fighting for their lives to get off this literal hell pit of a planet exhausting every cell in his body.

The next blow from the hulking alien comes at him hard, sloppy but not lacking in power. Keith feels the sword shutter as it takes the hit but notably doesn’t feel it buckle. Experience has taught him all too well that it takes more than an off blow to incapacitate his weapon. The last time it had happened, an entire building had landed on it during the course of a rescue mission, taking the team the better part of an evening to pick it out of the rubble. Though, in his defense, he had only broken his Bayard twice in total during his time as the Red Paladin. A fact, which—according to Allura—is already a marked improvement from his predecessors.

It had been a topic the team, save for Shiro, had harassed him ad nauseam about until Lance ended up crushing his own in an airlock. And, without Shiro or Allura present while Lance cradled the pieces of his broken weapon, Keith may or may not have withheld information as to the self-regenerative nature the Bayards. To Keith's great amusement, Lance had nearly been in tears by the time they had gotten back to the castle. It had been Coran who informed him that his weapon would repair itself in the course of three to four quintants. The look Lance shot Keith afterward seemed to suggest that he would gladly replace Keith between the airlock instead.

And, to be quite honest with himself, his body feels like it’s been crushed in the airlock— sore, injured, and likely suffering from low-grade heat exhaustion if the buzzing behind his eardrums is any indication. The others, he thinks, are probably in a similar boat with him as well. It doesn’t look good for them. Then again, the fact that they’re trapped without escape, left to scramble their way through actual fire and lava to make their way back up to the surface, being outnumbered by what is likely hundreds of Tav’et soldiers, is reassuring in a way. 

After all, they’d seen through worse.

After another hard strike in which Keith is able to successfully block, the alien snorts, large animal nostrils flaring wildly as his frustration becomes evident. Keith is again reminded of the Tav’et’s uncanny similarity to large anthropomorphic bulls. One of the only defining traits between the Tav’et and the Earth species happened to be the charred reddish color of their skin, exposed by a lack of fur and painted with white war designs.

Despite their appearance and considerable lack of manners or formalities, The Tav’et possess a powerful legion of honor-bound warriors. And despite their stubbornness, as long as you made your respect known, they were a relatively cooperative ally. It makes Keith wonder, as he rolls sideways to avoid the next hit if things might have turned out differently between the Tav’et and the paladins had it not been for Hunks decidedly inappropriate hamburger joke.

“Hunk,” Keith calls out, blowing away a stray piece of sweat-soaked hair out of his eyes, 

“How we holding up buddy?”

“Not great.” Hunk replies over the com, “I keep trying to clear them away but they keep charging me.”

Keith quickly shifts his eyes over to his right, confirming the situation Hunk had described. The Yellow Paladin currently making his way backwards up the cliff ridge in order to keep his distance far away from the army of melee armed warriors, soldiers stepping over their fallen to rush at Hunk with swords, clubs, and hammers alike. While the two of them together could have taken on the crowd without issue, Keith’s much larger and obviously more combat experienced opponent had singled him out from the beginning— leaving Hunk to fend for himself. And while one-on-one combat suited Keith better, he had never exactly dealt with a combatant of this size.

“Do we have a status update?” Keith hisses into his com, his momentary lapse in focus causing him to incorrectly deflect, bringing the weight down on his shoulder. It ached, but no more than the rest of his body.

“Well, I’ve got to go with Hunk on this one: could be better,” Lance’s voice repeats back to him.

“Vague.”

“What Lance means to say,” Shiro cuts in, “is that we’ve run into a hiccup.” 

“What kind of hiccup?”

“We’ve reached the central control unit but are unable to upload Pidge’s override to the mainframe—”

“—apparently, Hamburger Helper people don’t use the same drive as literally everyone in the galaxy does for some fuc—” There’s a spark and a yelp of surprise.

“What was that?” Keith says, ducking from behind the stalagmite as the hammer smashes through it and landing in a roll.

“Oh, you know, playing around in wires, seeing if something will connect to our stupid converter. Just getting my ass electrocuted. The usual.” Lance hisses. Keith rolls his eyes.

“Good news is that we’ve located and the master key for the prison cells.” Shiro says, “There wasn’t any info as to what cell Pidge is located but we’ve disarmed the locking mechanism so she should be able to figure her way out on her own. How she’ll contact us without her helmet I’m not sure on, but we’ll find a way to rendezvous with her when we’re able to override the system and locate and unlock our cruiser.”

“How much longer is it going to take to figure that out?” Keith says, looking to Hunk who is slowly being backed up onto a cliff,  churning lava pooling below it, “We really can’t hold out for much longer.”

“Well, it’s going to be a minute.” Shiro says with a sigh.

“To be honest, guys, I don’t even think we have a minute right now.” Hunk chimes in, his voice wavering somewhat as he knocks down an enemy into the lava— fire and smoke rising in its wake.

“Agreed. I’m doing all I can to hold back one of their larger enemies but I can’t get a hit on him. We really need some back up here.”

“Look, I’m going as fast as I can!” Lance snaps, “You see, our tech guru is currently out for lunch so I’d appreciate the patience.” he hisses.

Keith grunts as he jumps to avoid another attack, “Maybe if you spent less time running your mouth you’d be able to figure it out!”

There’s an inhale of air across the line which indicates Lance getting ready to fire with something snarky but Shiro cuts him off before it can happen.

“Just hold in as long as you can, we just need a little more time.”

Keith is about to respond but is interrupted by the weapon swinging down on him again. He bucks it off with his sword, and this time is able to step out of his defensive stance long enough to bring his Bayard down across the warriors dominant arm. It doesn’t go deep, but it’s enough to cut through skin and sever the second layer of muscle.

The Tav’et lets out an angry howl as he backs away, forearm twitching violently as the blood supply is compromised. His nose flairs open violently, a red line winding up the crown of his horns as he bellows, charging a Keith with a supernatural force he doesn’t expect. It’s too fast for him to respond.

Shit.

The Tav’et Warrior doesn’t even reach him though, as the warrior suddenly seizes, roaring out in pain as he scrambles to paw at his fur-laden back. His hands come back bloody. He swipes angrily at a figure who promptly kicks themselves off his back, Bayard tucked beside her as she rolls into a defensive stance.

“Figured you could use the help.” Pidge shouts over, her lack of helmet making it hard to hear her over the rushing crowd and the lava groaning ominously in the background.

“Yup.” He replies, gesturing to the aggravated Tav’et heading her way. She’s faster and lighter than Keith, making it easier for her to dodge out from his attacks heading her way. She weaves herself from right to left, occasionally making a false move to strike which puts him on defense. 

Together, they’re too much for the warrior to keep track of. Once Keith is sure the Tav’et’s attention is fully fixed on her, he takes the opening Pidge has left him and charges forward. Keith runs his Bayard forward. It connects it with the alien's sternum. 

The Tav’et’s shock makes it easier for Keith to jam his blade up to the hilt, pulling back forcefully in a string of tissue and perforated organs— blood trickling down his forearm.

The warrior stands stock still for a moment before sinking to his knees. He goes down in a twitching mass, all while keeping his weapon locked in his iron grip. Keith has to jump back before he’s taken down with him. Blood pools around him on the volcanic sand below them before he eventually stops moving. Pidge nudges him with the heel of her boot and gives him a thumbs up.

“Down.” She confirms.

Hunk’s voice suddenly buzzes through his earpiece “Wait, a minute, is that Pidge?”, he pants, “Please dear god tell me that’s Pidge. Because I could really use some help right now!”

“You found Pidge?” Shiro cuts in over the com.

Keith looks up to where Hunk has started reaching the very edge of his allowance before falling over the cliff.

“Yeah, it’s Pidge.” Keith says, breathless willing his muscles to keep from locking up, “We’re heading your way now, Hunk.”

It doesn’t take long for them to converge upon the crowd, making quick work of the remaining enemies. They move together in formation, Pidge moving quickly between target as Keith picks off the stronger of the bunch, occasionally maneuvering them in the way of Hunks blaster.

Pidge is the one to take down the last assailant, hefting the body onto the pile of enemies. 

Hunk lets out a sigh of relief, “Okay, not to be overdramatic, but I thought I was a goner there for a second”, he says, quickly stepping away from the lip of the cliff and over the bloodstained sands. He wobbles over to where Pidge is wiping her Bayard on a stray piece of cloth from an enemy tunic and grabs her in a bear hug so tight that Keith swears he hears bones crack.

“I was so worried about you. Promise to never get arrested by an angry race of cow people ever again.” He says as he picks her full off the ground.

“Hunk, you're crushing me” she squeezes out.

He puts her down, making a hasty apology as she takes in gulping breaths.

She gasps, heaving over on her knees to catch her breath, “And, no promises buddy, no promises.”

“Shiro,” Keith says into his com, “we’ve found Pidge and have put down most the opposition— converging on your point now.”

“Affirmative.”

They break into a jog towards one of the doors which leads to the control center, passing through the yard of bodies. They swerve around what they can and jump over them when need be. The two doors, metallic and connected to a control panel lay just out of reach, waving in the arid heat. 

“So,” Pidge says, eyes shooting back and forth as she scouts for enemies, “get me up to speed, what’s the plan for getting us off this God-forsaken rock?”

“Well,” Keith says, “Our transport is locked in one of their cargo bays. We’re trying to use your program to hack into the building's mainframe but they can’t find where to connect your drive.”

“If there’s no port, did they try creating a bypass?”

“Trying would be the keyword.”

“Shiro’s version of trying or Lance’s version?”

“Lance’s, which is probably what’s taking so long.”

“You know,” Lance says, “I can hear what you’re saying over there! Shiro’s busy scouting the door so I’m doing the best I can.”

Keith figures that doesn’t say much but he stops himself before he can say anything. That would be a sure fire way to start an argument which wouldn’t help them at the moment. Instead, he scoffs and ends it there.  
  
“Shiro, we’re heading your way. Can you send over the coordinates?”  
  
Shiro gives an affirmative and Keith pulls out his locator which tells him the vague direction of two little blips marking out Shiro and Lance. Once they enter the doors it should be a straight shot southeast through the winding tunnels.

They’re almost to the door when Keith hears Pidge yelp.

He’s quick to turn around, even quicker to act as he sees Pidge fall to the ground, a clawed hand tight around her right ankle.

A Tav’et clings to Pidge’s leg having tripped her, causing her to fall harshly into the sand. The warrior, using her elbows to prop herself up from her position on the ground— barely alive— uses the last of her energy to drag Pidge backward. Pidge thrashes, yanking back her leg as she shoves her other one in the face of her attacker to try and gain some leverage. It’s ineffective as the woman doesn’t react in the slightest, heaving her bloodied body up to her knees as she continues to drag Pidge backward, now grasping onto her chest plate and pressing down hard.

Keith swings into a roundhouse kick which lands on her sternum, the force of it causing the woman to snap backward in place, consequently releasing Pidge. Keith reactivates his Bayard, the weapon swiftly releasing from its hold. Pidge scrambles away, giving Keith the space to catch her assailant as she backpedals, swinging his sword across her neck— slicing the tendons. The shock registers on her face as she claws at her bleeding neck, sliding down until half her face is hidden, buried in the sand.

Keith sheaths his Bayard, quickly locking arms with Pidge and helping her back to her feet. He gives her a once over for any sustained injuries and feels an inward sigh of relief when he does find any apparent damage.

“You okay?” Keith asks for confirmation. This is immediately answered as Pidge puts her weight on her right ankle and lets out a yelp of pain.

“Well, I was until I did that.” Pidge grouses, leaning back on her ankle to test it again and earning the same painful result. “I think she sprained my ankle.”

“Do you think you can reach the point? How much pressure can you put on it?”

Pidge attempts to take a step forward but is greeted by the same pain shooting up her leg. She crumples down on it slightly and Hunk moves in to stabilize her.

“That would be a negative.” She huffs, angrily wiping the sweat off her brow, “You two run ahead of me, figure out how to get that transport out of here and then come back for me. I can fend for myself until you get back.”

“We’re not leaving you,” Keith says, passing over the locator to Hunk and crouching down into a low squat, using his hands on the ground to balance himself, “hop on, it’s not far from here.”  
  
“You know,” she says, hobbling over to Keith before clinging to his back, Keith tucking her legs through his arms to stabilize them, “I feel personally attacked by this planet. Here I am, getting kidnapped and getting my shit taken away all while sweating my tits off. Why is it me who gets all the bad luck?”

Once Pidge settled herself on his back, Keith slowly lifted them off the ground— his thighs steady with adrenaline.

“Hey, it could be worse,” He heaves her up, adjusting her weight evenly on his back before stepping forward, “you could be Hunk when we visited that planet of bird people.”

“The Vrisal,” Hunk corrects, muttering darkly.

“Oh my God,” She says, hooking her pointed chin over Keith’s shoulder to look ahead, “I forgot about that! Those screams, man. Those screams are permanently burned into my skull.”

Hunk clears his throat pointedly, marking the end of the conversation as he walks onwards to the door, staring at the locator in his hands. He places his hand on the door and it opens to reveal an intricate series of steel tunnels. 

He checks down at the screen in front of him again, “Alright, we start off this way.” He announces, Keith trailing close behind them, somewhat thanking his Galra enhanced hearing abilities as he scans for footsteps. He hears none. He instead focuses his attention on jostling Pidge as little as possible.

In all, it takes them about ten minutes or so to reach the entrance to the command center. Thankfully, the halls are mostly free of any Tav’et personnel, which likely meant that their diversion beacon was giving away their false location. The few who struggle behind are quickly avoided through the maze-like tunnels.  
  
The hallway to the control center is marked by seven or so bodies lying on the ground and the mark of white and black hair hanging out from the doorway. Shiro maneuvers around the door to point his gun at the intruding presence but quickly lowers his weapon as soon as he recognizes the group.

“There you guys are, we’ve been waiting on you.” Shiro says, expression changing to alarm as soon as he notices who is currently sitting piggyback on Keith, “Wait, what happened to Pidge?”

“Slightly long story short,” Keith says, shuffling past Shiro into the control room with Pidge in tow, “she got grabbed and she can’t walk on her ankle.”

“Oh,” he says eyebrows shot up in concern, “we’ll have to get you into a healing pod as soon as we get back to the castle.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she says dismissively, tapping Keith on the shoulder to put her down, “I’ll get right on that after I stuff my face under an air vent.”

“Can you three stop chatting and help me over here?” Lance cries, currently underneath the open paneling of the giant computer, face twisted in concentration— his tongue peaking out between his downturned lips.

Keith puts Pidge down, taking care to steady her as she finds her footing. Once she does, she literally hops over to where Lance is currently trying to shuffle his way deeper into the computer.

“Wait, hold up— I think I found it!” He says, triumphant, plugging in the repurposed Altean disk drive, “Did that do anything?”

The screen doesn’t respond but instead stays exactly the same as before.

“Well, it didn’t explode so I’d say that’s progress.” Pidge answers smartly, pushing her glasses higher on her face with the hand that’s not currently leaning on the control panel. 

“ _ Fuck _ !” Lance bemoans, voice muffled by the machine he’s currently stuffed himself in.

“Guys,” Shiro answers from the door, chastising, “pay attention, we need to get on that transport and back to the castle before it’s detected by Tav’et sonar. We can’t put the castle at risk.”

“Here,” Pidge leans over, “let me see the drive.” she says, hand reaching out as Lance passes it over, pulling himself out of the computer’s innards.

Pidge fingers the drive, clicking her tongue as she scans the equipment for a solid twenty seconds.

“Ah-ha!”, she says, promptly slapping the metal plating on the board to her left, the panel sliding away to reveal a port with the same drive outlet she holds in her hands. She plugs it in and the screen immediately responds by going black before rebooting, changing to a blue screen which greets it’s ‘overlord’.

“Are you kidding me,” Lance says, scrambling over to stare distressed at the open cover, “It was that easy?!”

“Yup,” She responds, flashing him a shit-eating grin, ”then again, it’s pretty obvious to everyone except you.”

“You little—” Lance flusters.

“Lance, cut it out.” Shiro says over him.

“But she started it!” He shouts, loud enough to leave a ringing sound in Keith’s ears.

“Will you shut up, Lance?” Keith sighs rubbing at his ear, “I want to get off this planet, hopefully  _ today _ .”

“Well someone’s cranky,” Lance scoffs, moving to the side as Shiro bolsters past him to the control panel, ”Is the heat getting to you, pretty boy?”

“Alright, Pidge” Shiro says, clearly ignoring them, “Do you think you can detect where they stored our cruiser?”

Pidge doesn’t look up from where she’s typing, “Already did, it’s in Section 2 of Docking Bay 17. I’ll add quardiance to our locators. It’s inaccessible through this tunnel system but we can easily reach it if we go down to the main floor and east from there. 

“Only issue,” she pulls up video footage of what must presumably be the main floor, “is that the hallways are lined with a dozen or so guards. From the looks of it, they can be taken out pretty easily but there could be a chance of drawing attention to ourselves. I’ve completely overridden the system though so, good news, there’s no way they can initiate a lockdown. Problem is just getting through down two teammates, since someone probably needs to carry me.”

“Right,” Shiro nods.

“Another option,” She clears her throat, “is to use the ventilation systems to crawl down there. Downside is that, since we’re so close to the planet's core, there’s a teency, tiny, little bit chance we could go over a non-plated, exposed, part of the system.”

“Alright, so what does that mean?” Shiro says.

“Well, it means we could either be fine or we could be cooked alive,”

“What?!” Hulk squeaks, “I’m sorry, but I really don’t like the sound of that.”

“As I said, it’s a very small chance but I thought I’d voice the concern.” She calls back to Hunk, eyes not leaving the screen. Finally she pulls away, looking to Shiro.

“It’s your call Shiro, what should we do.”

Shiro goes silent, staring at the ceiling pensively. 

“Is there any way you can make sure that won’t happen?”

“So,” Pidge turns back to the computer, bringing up the building's layout, “I can map out which parts are definitely safe, it should take us right outside the docking bay but we’ll have to take a while to break into the entrance to the bay doors.”

“That sounds like the best course of action.” Shiro surmises, folding his arms, “it’s best if we avoid what we can for now and not alert them to our presence any more than we already have. Do you know where the nearest access to the vents are?”

“There should be one not far from here.” Pidge answers, “if someone can come over and help me walk I can show you where it is.”

Lance makes a move forward but Keith beats him to it.

“I’ve got it.” Keith says, stepping over to Pidge and settling up on her right side, just short enough to lock arms with her and stabilize her. Being the second shortest member of the team occasionally had its blessings.

Pidge and Keith take up the lead with Shiro close behind them, walking down the hallways at Pidge’s instruction. It takes only a few minutes to come to a low opening which looks like any standard ventilation system.

“Am I even going to fit in there?” Hunk raises the considerably concerning question, a hand coming up to gesture at his significant height. 

“The access should be just enough to accommodate two people across so I don’t foresee you not having enough room.”

“Here,” she says, gesturing for Keith to lean her down till she’s nose to nose with the vent cover, pulling out her multi-tool and unscrewing the bolting mechanism, “We’ll try it and if it doesn’t work we’ll go to plan B.”

Shiro frowns, “What’s plan B?”

“We all fucking die."

“You’re just full of optimism today.” Lance says, preening. Keith rolls his eyes.

“That tends to happen when you’re trapped thousands of miles underground on a hell planet surrounded by angry bull creatures who want to kill you.”

She finishes unscrewing the large paneling and leans back to surmise her work before pulling away the covering.

“Alright,” she says, “who wants to go first? I vote me since I know where I’m going.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Shiro agrees, “I’ll follow behind you then. Hunk, you go after me. Lance and Keith can take up the rear.”

“Why is it me who keeps getting the butt end of things today?” Lance says, laughing at his own joke, “Get it? Because the rear— butts?”

“Lance, if you have to explain the joke.” Pidge starts, voice cooing slowly as if talking to a child, “it’s not funny.”

Keith sighs, “Isn’t this situation bad enough without your lame jokes?”

“Hey,” he says, placing his hands on his hips, “my jokes aren't lame. They’re egg-celent. Egg-clent yokes.” 

Pidge face-palms, Keith rolls his eyes for the umpteenth time today and Shiro just looks disappointed.

“Dude,” Hunk cringes, “please don’t even start talking about eggs. I miss them so much..”

“ _ Anyway _ , Lance's bad egg jokes aside.” Pidge speaks up, peeking her head into the tunnel system, “We should probably get a move on before they find out our false distress beacon was just a distraction.”

“Right.” Shiro nods, gesturing for Pidge to go in first. She does so, careful of her ankle as she crawls forward into the small vent. As Shiro said, he goes next, followed by Hunk who— as Pidge predicted— just barely fits on his hands and knees. Finally Keith and Lance are left alone in the now empty hallway.

At the same time, they both make a move to go forward towards the vent before the recognize what the other is doing and pull back to glare at each other.

“Excuse me, you’re in my way, Mullet.”

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you hear Shiro? He said  _ Lance  _ and then Keith.” Lance says, putting his hands on his hips, “As in I go first.”

“Lance,” Keith says, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to ward off the headache threatening to pound against his skull, “it literally doesn’t matter who goes first. It makes absolutely no difference whatsoever.”

“Hey, I’m just following what Shiro said.”

“No you’re being pedantic, like always. Either way, we need to go now so the team doesn’t leave us behind.”

“Fine.” Lance hisses.

“Fine.” Keith glares.

They both dive forward to the vent, shoving each other away from it in a hasty attempt to get their first. Lance mashes the palm of his hand into Keith’s left cheek to push his head away and Keith jabs his elbow into his ribs in retaliation. Keith licks the hand in his face. 

Lance jumps back with a yelp, “Ew, dude, gross!”

Keith uses the distraction to make his way towards the vent but Lance pushes him away. They both make a rushed attempt to the opening, both shoving themselves into the cramped entrance, thrashing to get the other to move over while squishing the other into the steel walls, the comotion rattling echoing against the metal.

“Stop shoving me!” Keith yells, using his body weight to shove back, slamming Lance’s body against the cramped wall.

“I will as soon as you move over! Your stupid hair is getting in my mouth!”

Keith, against his better judgement, rises to the bait, “Will you just shut the fuck up and move already!”

“Boys” Shiro voice cuts in, voice stern as it bounces off the metal.  
  
“Yeah, don’t make Shiro come back there.” Pidge cackles.

Hunk shushes them, “Guys, I really don’t want anyone to find us up here. That would really, really not be good.”

“I will be quiet if Lance gets his bony elbow out of my side.” Keith hisses instead of full on yelling this time.

“You’re one to talk, your fat ass is squishing my legs.” Lance whisper-yells back, checking Keith in the hips for good measure.

Keith heaves out a frustrated sigh, blowing the hair out of his eyes, “It’s not my fault you have no ass.”

“Will you two just fuck already, your sexual tension is killing me.” Pidge calls back, causing Keith’s face to burn scarlet.

“Pshh,” Lance snorts, “like I would ever fuck emo boy if he were the last person on earth.”

“We’re not on Earth, dumbass, unless you forgot.” Keith says, ignoring the heat pooling in his face, “But, hey, there’s something even we can agree on.”

“Alright,” Shiro says, “that’s enough.”

“Yeah, what Shiro said!” Pidge chimes in, unhelpfully.

“ _ Pidge _ .”

“Ugh, sorry  _ dad _ .” Pidge groans before making a mic sound and speaking like a stewardess on a commercial spacecraft. “As you probably cannot see, there is a straight drop ahead at the end of the vent. To your left, there are railings for your climbing pleasure. Please please pay attention so you don't fall to your untimely death. Thank you for flying space flight Pidge.”

He hears the sounds of Pidge stepping down said railing up ahead and soon sees Hunk disappear down them as well. The railing is slightly smaller than the rest of the vent. Keith and Lance glare at each other as they near the ladder. Keith takes the opportunity to shove forward ahead of him and onto the railing, smirking at the mock horror on Lance’s face.

“Are you serious? You’re going to regret that!”

“I don’t think I will.”

“Yes you will, I’ll stick gum in your hair.” Lance say, darkly and entirely too serious.

“I’d like to see you try.” Keith sneers, “Also, are we settling for playground tactics now?”

“Hey, I’ll have you know I’m  _ very  _ mature.”

“Okay, even I have to laugh at that one.” Hunk says from up ahead which makes Keith snort again. 

Lance opens and closes his mouth like a fish gasping it’s last breaths, “Betrayed! By my own best friend. How could you? You can forget about getting Blue when I die.

“That’s not how the Lions work.” Keith frowns.

“Well it definitely isn’t now. I’m writing you all out of my will.”

“I’m in your will? Wow, I didn’t know you cared.” Keith says, voice ladened with sarcasm.

“Of course you are, you’re written in to kick your own ass for me when I leave this mortal plane.”

“Uh-huh, whatever you say.” Keith sighs, continuing down the railing and reaching the very bottom into another series of vents. It was likely that the railings were built by the original inhabitants to accommodate maintenance in the tunnels, the Tav’et being much too large to ever fit in them. The building must have been a remnant from the days before the Tav’et had colonized and promptly destroyed the aboriginal peoples of this planet. Why Allura had decided to reach out the obligatory diplomatic hand and try to recruit them into the Altean alliance with such a checkered past was beyond Keith. Then again, the Tav’et used to be less violent back in her day before Altea was destroyed. Apparently, they had been alright at being civil enough to work with at the time. Siding with the Galra seemed to change their minds on the whole thing. That would have been nice information to know before they were all kidnapped and threatened to be shipped off to the Galra. Hindsight's 20/20 after all.

“Great, now your ass is directly in my face. I knew this would happen if you went first.” Lance wipers in a tone that’s not nearly as quiet as he seems to think it is.

Now it’s Keith’s turn to shush him. He can hear the deep baritone voices of the Tav’et soldiers echo through the vent system, churning against the metal as they talk. Lance begins to open his mouth again before he finally catches on and snaps it shut. They move slowly, crawling gently in order to muffle their sounds. Giving in to his curiosity, Keith chances a glance through one of the grates and he can see seven of them patrolling past. Keith silently thanks Pidge, if it weren't for her plan they would have had to fight their way through in order to get to the docking bay which was likely inadvisable given the team's current exhausted state.

Keith is just about to move on before a sharp banging sound reverberates through the chamber.  The team all reflexively snap their heads towards the source of the sound. Hunk's head pressed up against the top of the tunnel where he apparently must have banged it. Keith's eyes snap back to the grate, scanning for movement. Keith scans beyond the vent, the opening hanging high towards the ceiling giving him a clear view. He watches, cool sweat dripping down his temple as one of the guards stiffen, spine stretching from it's naturally slouched position as it jerks its head around sharply in search of the noise. Keith deliberately taps his nail lightly against the metal twice, signaling danger as the tension in the air becoming palpable as the team halts all movement,

The guard steps away from his post, narrowed black eyes shifting from side to side. His right pointed ear twitches, the cartilage searching for the sound. Keith suddenly becomes hyper-aware of their collective breathing and the sound of his own heartbeat. Keith reluctantly prays to whatever universal power might be listening that the Tav’et don’t share the Galra's enhanced hearing abilities.

He steps forward again, now sniffing the air with a gray spotted snout which is vaguely reminiscent of a pig's. On his fifth breath of air, his gaze turns upwards towards their general location. The Tav'et stares directly at him and he hopes the vent shutters aren't as transparent from the outside. A moment of silence follows as time freezes momentarily, Keith's brain rushing through hastily made plans of escape.

Suddenly, another deep voice calls out from beyond where Keith can see, directed towards the guard. Not breaking eye contact, the creature gives a curt response back, his jagged iron spear swaying with the movement. Again, Keith finds himself wishing that the castle had had enough time to update itself on the Tav'et's language, which had significantly changed since Altea had been destroyed. Without the update, the relevant vocabulary that could be sent into their translators was extremely limited—which Keith suspects played a large role in the miscommunications which followed between the two groups. It was now though, in particular, that Keith wished they came to this planet more prepared. While it may not have prevented the Tav'et from siding with the Galra, who— admittedly— were very persuasive in recruiting allies for the empire, it would let him know what the two were saying at the very least.

Keith clamps his teeth together and controls his breathing, sharp canines digging into his gum. He can hear the team slow their breathing as well, and Keith is thankful that this general situation came up in their training simulations. The quiet is defining but it doesn't seem to deter the guard who continues stepping closer, following their scent. Slowly he halts near the vent, glaring suspiciously around him, latched onto their trail. 

Suddenly, the other guard, one laying outside Keith's view, says something to the Tav'et. The Tav'et turns his head away to respond and Keith can feel his gaze move off of him. The next sentence the other guard says Keith can just barely understand— piecing together bits of dialogue that don’t quite translate to English but convey a general meaning. The other Tav'et calls him away for a reason Keith can’t discern. The Tav’et gives a once last suspicious glance in their direction before slowly retreating out of sight, the sound of his cloven hooves clacking against the steel grating.

Keith hangs his head low, silently breathing a sigh of relief as he listens to his heartbeat slow and the blood rushing in his ears dissipate. He uses the sharpened points of his gloved nails to softly tap three times on the vent wall, signaling the danger has passed. From where Keith is looking, he can see Hunks shoulders relax again and can hear Lance's let out a muffled breath he'd been holding in. It takes them a few seconds for Shiro to look out his own vent and tap that the coast is clear. Soon enough they're crawling forward again to the end of the hallway, passing through a curve which leads to what looks to be the entrance to a docking bay. 

Pidge shuffles around with her tool belt, bringing out a screwdriver to unhinge the clasps of the vent grate. The grate quickly comes loose and she pushes against it, the metal falling to the ground outside the vent with a bang. She turns around in order to exit the vent, hanging by her fingers from the 8-foot drop to the floor, landing on her one good foot, sliding against the wall to lessen the shock going down. It doesn't do much to soften the blow and she grunts, stifling a moan as the pain shoots up her leg, briefly making her see stars as she leans against the wall. The rest follow next, Hunk briefly experiencing trouble turning himself around but ultimately making it outside the vent all the same. Keith hoists himself down with a grunt, tired tendons cramping at the pressure. After Lance clambers down, they collectively turn towards the large interlocking metallic doors. Above, the entrance reads out what equates to the number seventeen in Quaix, the number system used by that majority of the galaxy which the team had come to learn how to read.

Pidge takes Shiro's offered arm and hops her way over to the adjacent panel box connected to the door. A small square screen boxes in the numbers for a five digit code. Pidge leans against the wall next to the panel, bending down to its side and extracting what looked to be a small magnetic device which affixes itself to the box with a click. As soon as the device contacts, the five boxes on screen begin to fastly fill with different combinations of numbers. 

"How long is that going to take?" Lance asks, scanning both ends of the hallway for signs of activity, taking out and activating his Bayard.

"Should only take a few minutes. It's going through over 1000 different combinations per second so it shouldn't take long to find the right key." Pidge says as she adjusts her glasses, turning back to look at Lance and his activated weapon, "Why, do you hear something?"

"There's nothing around for at least a yard in either direction." Keith answers automatically, picking at the blood caked into his suits gloves "Lance is just being paranoid."

"The fuck I'm paranoid, I've almost been killed three times today," Lance yells, but then thinks better of it and lowers his voice to a stage whisper "and I'm sorry, not all of us are lucky enough to have fancy Galra hearing."

"You have to admit, though, it is pretty useful in situations like these," Hunk says, rubbing the top of his helmet where he hit it on the top of the vent.

"Yeah, but he doesn't have to be a dick about it."

"I wasn't being a dick, I was stating the obvious."

"It’s not obvious when the rest of us don't have magic alien echolocation abilities, Keith." Lance hisses, pointing dramatically to his own ears for reference.

"For the last time, it's not echolocation. I'm not a bat!"

"And done," Pidge says, the display flashing green as the correct combination is entered into the device. She reaches down the unclick the device, clipping it back to her belt as the metal doors pull apart, revealing the hanger within. Keith goes forward automatically as Pidge begins to overbalance from the motion.

"Here, I've got you," Keith says, bending down once again to allow her onto his back. She gives a curt nod as she swings on.

"Thanks," she grumbles as Lance snickers at the two of them, "Don't you dare start."

"Hey, hey," Lance snickers, raising his hands in surrender— the feigned innocence of the gesture lessened by the fact that he has his gun activated— "I'm just saying it's a good thing that Princess Pidge has her noble steed around to carry her around in case she hurts her 'wittle foot. Only your noble steed is more of a walking fashion disaster so painful it's iconic. God, I wish I had a camera. This would make excellent blackmail."

"Do you even hear the words that come out of your mouth? Or do you just vomit them out and hope something sticks?" Pidge sneers. Keith says nothing but shoots him a mild glare as he shuffles, fixing his hold on Pidge.

Shiro lifts his weapon into a patrolling stance, taking up the front. The rest take their cue and fall into formation, Lance and Hunk mimicking Shiro's stance as they point their blasters to either side of the group, scanning for targets. Despite the suspicion, the hanger appears to be blissfully empty. Keith holds his breath against the swell of hope in his chest, feeling slightly more optimistic about them all getting off the planet without sustaining any permanent damage. At least nothing that a healing pod couldn't fix.

"Up ahead," Shiro says, gesturing to their cruiser midway through the hanger, looking small in comparison to the large fighter parked next to it. They make their way to their transport, Keith watching over his shoulder as the hanger doors automatically lock behind them.

They walk forward over to the small ships entrance, Shiro typing in the security code for the door with ease. The cruiser doors open with a hiss, revealing the tiny control room looking the exact same as it had a quintet ago before they landed on the planet to begin with. Shiro enters the cruiser, beelining to the control panel where he swiftly boots up the system— the device briefly displaying in Altean before switching into English.

"Alright, I'm tracking the castle's coordinates now," Shiro says, swiping left at the controls so that the display shows a geographical rendering of the cruiser's current location, "Hunk, Lance, I'm going to need you two to cover the door."

"Roger that," Lance says nonchalantly, trying and failing to twirl his Bayard in one hand— the weapon clattering to the ground with a resounding bang. Luckily, it doesn't discharge but Lance is quick to sweep it off the floor all the same— at least having the decency to look sheepish and chuckle nervously as the entire team shoots a glare his way.

"I'm just going to go watch those doors," Lance cringes, scampering off toward the doors with Hunk in tow.

"Hey, Keith." Pidge says.

"Huh?" Keith tilts his head back to look at Pidge squinting at something far off in the distance.

"Look over there," Pidge points up the staircase into what looks to be an overflowing corner presumably meant for storage— bits and pieces of wires, ship equipment, and weapons piled from the floor midway up the ceiling. Given that the majority of the weapons in check were an assortment of small guns and other automatic weapons which the Tav’et didn't use, the towering aliens preferring large melee weapons, Keith was left to guess that the pile in question was of confiscated or pillaged goods. Sitting on top of another pile of wires sits something he thinks he recognizes. 

"is it just me or is that my helmet?" Pidge asks.

"Only one way to find out," Keith answers, making his way over to the staircase and slowly ascending it. hulling the steps slowly one at a time— his usual vigor replaced with bone-deep exhaustion and a strong desire to get off the planet Zaei as soon as possible and immediately forget its existence. He rises to the top of the landing, stepping over a thick cable the width of his arm which threatens to trip him, and walking over to where the supplies lie tossed into the corner. Sure enough, out of the clutter is the tell-tale peak of a white helmet accented with the very green matching the paladin of the Green Lion. 

Pidge looks over his shoulder before grinning, "Ah-ha, I knew it was around here somewhere! I guess they must have thrown it here when they took it, I thought we were going to have to build me a new one when we got back to the castle."

"Apparently not," Keith digs past a stray wire tangled in the helmet and lifts it over his head to Pidge's waiting hand. Pidge gives it a once over before letting out a satisfied hum at its intact exterior. She hangs onto Keith's back with one arm, careful not to choke him as she pulls the helmet over her head, adjusting it over her short hair.

"You good?"

"Yeah, let's go." Pidge says, placing her arms back around Keith as they turn around and make their way back to the staircase. Keith is almost midway down the staircase when he hears a familiar sound of cloven footsteps heading their way.

"Uh, guys," Keith says, "I think we're about to have company."

"Where?" Shiro asks, his voice amplified by his com system.

"Main entrance," Keith says, rushing down the rest of the stairs, ducking behind a ship shielding both he and Pidge from view. 

"Hunk, Lance, you've got enemies approaching your area, do you copy?"

There's no answer.

"Hello? Guys? Kinda important you answer here." Pidge says.

"Sorry, what was that?" Hunk answers, "Lance, Lance, hold up. Be quiet, they're trying to tell us something."

Keith hears the whirring sound of the panel outside starting up. Keith peeks his head over to where the main doors to the hanger are starting to open before his eyes land on Lance.

"Lance, pay attention and look behind you," Keith growls towards Lance who is standing with his back completely turned away from the door, distracted as he chatters on to Hunk about something, hands gesturing wildly in the air as he animates what he's saying. 

At his words, Lance looks towards Keith, "What?" he shrugs flashing out his hands as his eyebrows shoot up expectantly.

"Behind you, idiot!" Keith yells, his warning causing Lance to turn heel towards the door two seconds before it opens.

Standing at the door, amidst a few Tav'et soldiers, stands a dozen or so Galra soldiers.

"Oh, quiznak." Lance whines, hastily ducking behind a tool bench from a shot fired his way. The air is soon riddled with the sounds of Galra blasters ricocheting off the walls as Hunk, following Lance's example, ducks for cover himself.

"Shiro, what do we do?" Hunk squeaks, his vocal cords held tightly as he counter-fires into the crowd. This is easily dodged by the targeted Galra soldier as they take firing positions, "We're way outnumbered here."

"Withdraw to transport! Coordinates are locked on. Let's move out." Shiro calls out.

Hunk and Lance begin to retreat backward, bayards firing towards the enemy and succeeding in taking out a few. 

"Hold on, Pidge," Keith warns, before breaking off into as much of a run he can manage with the added weight, zig-zagging through different barriers as he makes a dash towards their cruiser. He's halfway there before he's forced to real back his head into cover as a blast whirls past his head, nearly grazing his helmet. He finishes his run from there, making it towards the cruiser and gently settling Pidge into one of the seats. He whips his head around through the open door to the transport to watch as Hunk safely files in next to him. Lance continues to inch his way back to the cruiser, bending down quickly to avoid another shot fired his way. Keith watches as another shot lines up with Lance's head and, thinking quickly, grabs the other paladin by the back of the chest plate and pulls him inside.

Once everyone's inside, Shiro slams down the button to close the doors to the cruiser, shots echoing off the metal door. The cruiser rises with a jolt, hovering before it speeds forward out of the open docking hatch, the outside creating a heat mirage that reminds Keith of the desert at high noon.

"Alright, guys, this is going to be a quick rise, prepare for turbulence," Shiro says right as they transport lifts dramatically upwards through a series of tunnels raising them out from the deep underground. They all try and brace themselves, Keith manages to keep his footing as he hangs onto a bar attached to the side of the cruiser. Hunk is pushed down onto a seat and Lance ends up falling to the ground entirely. It isn't until they're past the stratosphere that the turbulence ends.

Keith sighs, swaying a bit as he feels all his energy leave him at once, leaning back and collapsing bonelessly into his seat.


End file.
